Sober Views on a Future Slipping Away

A USAToday/Gallup poll this week reached a milestone, and not a good one: for the first time in nearly 30 years, most Americans say today’s youth won’t be better off than their parents.
The survey found only 44 percent of the general public believe today’s young people will be better off, and there’s even greater doubt among older people (only 36 percent of those aged 50 to 64, for example) and among those who make more than $75,000 a year.

The survey found only 44 percent of the general public believe today’s young people will be better off, and there’s even greater doubt among older people (only 36 percent of those aged 50 to 64, for example) and among those who make more than $75,000 a year.

This is an even lower rating than at the height of the Great Recession (59 percent in 2009) or the dark days after 9/11 (71 percent in December 2001).

Our Slip-Sliding Away survey released earlier this year may shed some light on those results. In our survey, we found that four in 10 Americans say they’re struggling “a lot” in the current economy. But the striking thing to us what that even those who are struggling to pay bills in the here and now are more concerned about their long-term security. They’re more worried about being able to retire and pay for their children’s college education than they are about making their current bills.